This time Parys wasn’t racing. Huge congratulations to Parys who has been awarded the British Triathlon Female Age Group Triathlete of the Year 2009. It is always an honour to receive an award for which your peers have voted for. As usual Parys is very humble about this accomplishment. (see below)

At the same awards Ful-on Tri was awarded the British Triathlon Federation Club of the Year 2009, having been a member of the club I pass on my congratulations to all involved and think it is well deserved for a very friendly and vibrant triathlon club.

Parys say’s it was a complete surprise to get the award, but one which I am totally delighted with. My season had a fantastic start, but then ground to a halt due to injury and I missed a lot of races I would have loved to do. Hence I finished the season on a bit of a ‘downer’ despite making a decent comeback for Bala. With my injury still preventing me from running for 3 months, its taking its toll on my sanity, so when I received the award it was a great encouragement and helped me remember that the whole season wasn’t that bad despite ending in injury! I’m now excited about next season and even excited about getting back into training.

I can’t imagine what the last 2 years would have been like without help and great coaching from trifocus, everything changed for me when I started training with trifocus and I give you all the credit for helping me exceed my expectations and get the results and awards that I have in the last few years.

Lastly I must give credit to Ful-on tri, it’s a great club, and I know that it was the support of the club members that helped me get the Age Group award!

For those that know Parys will not be surprised, but she has managed to PB at Bala Standard Distance this weekend, despite having minimal run training over the last 2months due to injury. This placed Parys 4th female overall and 2nd in her category. This great result has also ensured that Parys has booked a place to go the Athlone in 2010 to compete in the European Standard distance champs for Great Britain, which was the main objective of this race. Well Done Parys

I bought this little deer at a shop in Parys. I can’t remember which one. I forgot all about it and found the packet just the other day- YES! Now it has a nice home next to the other little animals of a farmyard nature.

I have been tracking the girls LEJOG effort on their twitter site and they have finished in a time of 46 hrs 16 min 26 sec. Blitzing their target of 48-64 hours, absolutely awesome effort and well done.  Clearly the girls have demonstrated what great athletes they all are (we knew this already). Looking forward to seeing a full report on this epic effort.

I found this pocket watch in an antique store in Bree street, Parys. It was only R60 and that made me very happy. There are loads of antique stores on Bree street with lots of things to look at, so it makes for a fun day out.

but it isn’t. I saw it at a restaurant in Parys.

My mom says she once bought my gran a set of serviette rings exactly the same as this though. ooooh boy.

Hey guys I want to plan a weekend trip to vissit junk and antique shops. So if you are keen to join up or have any ideas let me know. I want to start in Parys and travel round Henley on Klip and surrounding areas. I’ll start listing some other venues and cool stores I find. I take pics and catalog a few of my finds. Stay tuned for dates and places next.

LEJOG is short for Land’s End to John O’Groats. In August (7th – 9th) 09 four female athletes from Ful-on Tri club will attempt to ride from LEJOG non stop in a relay. The LEJOG team are Emma Williams, Jess Taylor, Natalie Creswick & Pary Edwards (a Trifocus triathlete too). All of these team members are exceptionally strong cyclists. Each cyclist will be taking turns on the bike to cycle the distance, approximately 1000 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats. They estimate it will take somewhere between 48 and 64 hours, each cyclist covering almost 250 miles and spending between 12 and 16 hours on the bike.

The team is raising money for the Dave Aitchison SportsAid Fund, a fund set up by the Ful-on tri club to honour his memory and talent and to support up and coming triathletes in the London region.

This is a truly fantastic cause and an awesome challenge. In recognition of this the team have announced their four key sponsors who are supporting them before, during and after the event. Prologue bikes, Physio SW19, Freedman International and Mercury1 have all generously donated time, money and equipment for the event.

Watch out for coverage of the LEJOG relay in Cycling Weekly, Tri247 and local papers including the Richmond and Twickenham Times.

If you would like to sponsor the team, please take the time to visit their Justgiving page, read more about Dave and learn more about the event. And if you can, sponsor the team on their epic journey.

Sponsor the team at: www.justgiving.com/daveaitchisonfund_lejog_ttt <http://www.justgiving.com/daveaitchisonfund_lejog_ttt>
Follow the team on: www.twitter.com/lejogrelay <http://www.twitter.com/lejogrelay>

I was at the Toy Shop in Woodmead a few months ago. I had just got an email at work instructing me that I will be put on forced leave for 15 days in June. Yes, that is indeed more leave than some companies give their employees per year. I hadn’t taken these days off and, as with the laws with all government and parastatals, one MUST take a certain amount of leave within a certain period otherwise the employer can be blamed for not allowing their employees adequate breaks. Most companies just pay their employees off – I think this system does work better as it means you don’t suffer from work burnout. Anyway, back to the point; whilst in the pursuit for a box of assorted Lego, an amazing thought lit up in my cranium – use those two weeks for a roadtrip around this beautiful land of ours, better known as Msanzi but also known as South Africa.

Two months or so of planning culminated with me departing Jozi and seeking my fortune in towns not founded on Gold. The planning was top secret with a select few (i.e. people I needed help from or people I wanted to come along…and a few extras ) basically so I didn’t have to explain to people what and why and how and with who and all those really buggy questions that didn’t need answering because, frankly, I wasn’t sure myself. The intent behind a roadtrip of this nature was solitude, peace, relaxation and appreciation by the sites that the country offers. Two weeks of no internet and devoid of contact via cell phone. I had an itinerary planned but, well, let’s just say that is out the window and I don’t know what my next move is until I make it. It’s scary, yet great.

Leaving Jozi was easy. A brown haze bathed the city in a noxious mix of the wonderful flavours being spewed out all from over the Vaal Triangle. Crosby, Stills and Nash accompany me as I headed due south towards the industrial town of Sasolburg on the R59. This town was built upon the exploits of coal – this time, to produce oil for automobiles and the like, from coal. This plant is one of the biggest contributors to the pungent smells that sometimes engulf Gauteng. The plant was producing so much that I couldn’t even see Lethabo Power Station which usually is visible from at least 30km away. It is an impressive site though showcasing the ingenuity and drive that South African engineers had in the past and still have today. The plant itself looks like a city and due to the low oil prices of yesteryear, after the units at Secunda were built, it was said that such a large undertaking would never be viable for Sasol to undertake in the future. Low and behold, Sasol wants to compete with Eskom for the precious yet abundant coal of the Waterberg and a new plant is to be built up North near Lephalale. I do hope they put in some equipment to keep the air clean…

I continued along the R59 to the hamlet of Parys. I have visited this quaint little town before and had a party of note. This time, I see it in a sober state – it’s just so pretty. It really is a good looking town with everything that you want (well, there is no Louis Vuitton store but c’mon, this is the Platte land!) is neatly available around the corner. I soldier on towards Vredefort (I didn’t see any dome or crater). The road was superb – the section between Parys and the R501 turn-off to Potchestroom had not a single pothole and made for fun driving. I soldier towards Viljoenskroon and the nothingness that characterises the Free State Platte land. It boggled my mind – look left and you see a featureless, flat landscape. Look right, it’s the same! It is, however, perfect for growing crops – the silos in the Free State are of a size unimaginable.

Viljoenskroon provided a welcome stop for me. I struggled to actually find a food store in the town. After a drive through the entire town (which took me two or so minutes), I happened upon the Total Service Station (which had Excel petrol) and the garage shop which sold a variety of food. And by food, I mean meat – even the Margherita pizza had meat. I found a Vegetarian option. Free Staters aren’t renowned for the pizza making abilities. It filled me at least.

The R59 can be thought of as a service road. If you are going towards the major centres (like Kimberley and Bloemfontein), it is advisable to take the N1 or N12 – the other roads are farmer’s roads. It cuts through the farmland and offers farmers a route to transport their wares to the required destination. As a result, weird sites do occur such as two tractor drivers driving side-by-side, even though the road is a single-carriage way in each direction, so the drivers can have a nice chat. I waited a few minutes for them to talk their stories before I got past! Just before that, I encountered a van transporting maybe 20 old geysers. Now we know where old geysers go to die…

My intended route from Viljoenskroon onwards was at Hoopstad, join the R34 and go towards Bloemhof, the Bloemhof Dam and the N12. Just before Hoopstad, I turned right onto the R34. Throughout my journey, I was travelling West and the sun happily stayed on my right. Turning onto the R34 meant the sun would be glaring down at me head on. The road glistened from the years of dripped oil – this oil is the type that’s embedded in the surface and poses no slippery road threat. It does shine A LOT though! As I accustom my eyes to this new sensation, a very chilled out brown cow decides it’s time to cross the road. As I’m travelling at 120kph, this cow becomes rather big rather quickly. I swerve right and miss the cow by, well, very little. My car is top heavy and starts snaking. I swerve back left to correct the car then back right and then left again. Very lucky to be carrying the extra weight from my luggage, the car corrects and I am thanking God for keeping me safe! The cow merrily walks across the road. I pull into Hoopstad to regain my composure.

The town has a really nice cathedral and some Indian people. Actually, all these Free State towns now have Indians!

The cow experience was an important one: Be vigilant. One can go for countless Advanced Driver courses but unless you implement this, you will always be in danger. Watch the road and look out for anything that is suspicious and look for escape roads always. Your life is on the line and I think it’s best if you do take care.

The cow was a product of the township adjoining Hoopstad. Travelling the country, one notices the set form of every town in South Africa – a previously advantaged White town (with all the tourist features) with a township next to it. In most cases, the township is bigger than the actual town lets not tell anyone that. Hypothetically, if a new town springs up in South Africa, I wonder what the layout would be. This layout has worked – provide the town with a readily-available labour force. Yes it has worked but It also has brought immense poverty, hardship and terrible living conditions to millions but lets not mention that either. I doubt any chartered accountant in this new hypothetical town would want to live next door to a domestic servant though…

The R34 tested my alertness as it is a severely potholed road. At the end of it is a reward in the form of the Bloemhof Dam – an exquisite body of water in the middle of dry and drab Platte land. This, unfortunately, is where Tortoise, my companion who is a tiger, decided to leave us. He liked the place way too much. I’m going to be a terrible dad!

Joining the N12, I entered Bloemhof where I intended to stop but it was devoid of any substance that would warrant a stop. Not stopping was a pretty bad choice in the end as the road between Bloemhof and Warrenton is severely under construction. Christiana was my next stop with very little light remaining. I have heard this town is highly visitable but the dying of the light meant I had to rush. Although, I witnessed a wonderful sunset – the first of many I presume over the Platte land.

The drive between Warrenton and Kimberley is, well, it was night so I’ll just say “appeared” rather, to be a gentle downhill seemingly reaching the nadir in the centre of the Big Hole! Around 50km before Kimberley, one is greeting by the city lights of this town – stretching kilometres in each direction. It gave me that feeling when you drive down at night on the N2 from Umhlanga towards Durban.

The size of the town judging by those lights was pretty misleading as when I reach there, I’m picked up by Kershen who leads me to his place. When we get there, he tells me that we just drove across town in five minutes. Oh well, it is dark though. I will explore more in the morning. Tonight I shall be taken to The Halfway House Hotel, better known as “The Half”. Since 1872, it has provided an oasis for thirsty travellers making their way between Cape Town and Jozi. Pretty appropriate – Here’s to inebriation…

On Sunday 14 June the Royal Windsor triathlon was held, of which 3 Trifocus athletes competed.

Parys continued her domination of the 2009 season to win the Female age-group race outright in a time of 2:22:16 an awesome race having only recently competed at the Europeans (Duathlon).

Andrea set herself a new PB on the Windsor course in a time of 2:36 and 10th in her age and Matthew completed his first ever triathlon in a time of 2:41, with a solid 6 months of training we were able to beat both his initial target time (prior to training) & revised target commenting that apart from his rush in the start of the swim he was able to execute  consistent pacing for all disciplines. Well done to all for your individual achievements at Windsor

I am slightly behind on the news! Full congratulations to Parys who took a Silver medal in her age-group & third overall at this year’s ETU Duathlon Chamionships, held in Budapest in May 2009.

Parys had been focussed on this event for some time and the result was a just reward for her consistent hard work ethic and commitment to her training.

Parys, then returned home raced the following weekend & won Crystal Palace Triathlon, great way to start a season.

Parys in action at Steyning duathlon, qualifying for Budapest. Photo courtesy of Sussex Sport photography

A huge congratulations to Parys, a Trifocus triathlete who has qualified for the ETU Duathlon European Championship in Hungary.  Parys earnt her place and also placed 3rd overall at the Steyning Duathlon on Easter Monday.  The Steyning Duathlon is part of the UK National Duathlon Series & comprised of a very strong field. Placing 3rd was an added bonus as Parys’s goal was to achieve qualification for the European Championship. Well done Parys

Garden ornaments on view in a nursery in Parys, taken during the Flickr Vaal Meet-up.

photo from advertisement

We’ve posted Stonehenge replicas from Europe, North America, Asia,  and Oz so far. We’ve had New Zealand, too, but if we’re checking off continents only three are left and we would like to cover them all. Fortunately for us, not far outside of Johannesburg, South Africa, in Parys, Gauteng Province, there is a lodge and conference center called–you guessed it–Stonehenge, and, as the ad says, “As Guests enter Stonehenge, they are greeted by large replication of the celebrated Stonehenge Monument and throughout the complex natural, strategically placed granite plinths reinforce the African Ambience.”

OMG, score! The picture above is the only one we could find, so we don’t know if the ‘replication’ consists of more than two trilithons, but that’s enough for us to count it. They’re actually nice big square trilithons that put us in mind of the Montana Stonehenge, except for that lovely pinkish cast. (We’re waiting for photo permissions, but will get you Montana’s one of these days so you can compare.)

It’s impossible to score this accurately since we don’t know how much more of it there is, but, hey, we’ve never scored accurately before,  so why start now? Score: 6 druids, plus an extra  ∏ for being in Africa! Anyone who can direct us to replicas in Antarctica or South America gets . . . a handwritten note and our eternal gratitude, or something cooler if we can think of it. Get someone on the space station to make a henge and get us the picture and, Wow! We’ll be like BFFs forever! Srsly!!!

Ek was nog altyd ‘n “sucker” vir ‘n historiese storie…verslind enige iets wat lig werp op vroeëre beskawings en samelewings.

Iemand het nou die dag vir my ‘n gedig oor Abelard (1079–1142) en Heloïse gestuur en ek weet toe nie wie die mense was nie. ‘n Regte Romeo en Juliette storie van ‘n paartjie wat in die Middeleeue gelewe het. Hy was bykans 20 jaar ouer en ‘n briljante ou (in die slim sin), maar nie van die adelstand nie. Hy’t dinge geskryf soos: “The first key to wisdom is the constant and frequent questioning.… For by doubting we are led to question, by questioning we arrive at the truth.” Die kerk het dit natuurlik nie verstaan nie…

Heloïse was weer ‘n broers- of susterskind van Canon Fulbert van Notre Dame en tussen 15 en 17 jaar oud toe die twee ontmoet het….en toe raak sy swanger en hulle trou in die geheim…sy bly by familie…word na ‘n klooster gestuur…hy word ‘n monnik…hulle skryf vir die res van hul lewens briewe vir mekaar. In elk geval…dis die graf wat my opgeval het. Dis ‘n pragtige reliëfwerk naby Chopin en Oscar Wilde se grafte…gaan soek gerus.